Former New York Times columnist, author Tom Wicker dies

In this Sept. 13, 1963 photo, former New York Times reporter Tom Wicker stands in front of the White House in Washington. Wicker, who covered President John F. Kennedy?s assassination for the Times, went on to serve as the paper's Washington bureau chief and columnist has died at his home in Rochester, Vt. He was 85. (AP Photo/The New York Times, George Tames) MANDATORY CREDIT; NO ARCHIVE; FOR USE WITH TOM WICKER?S OBITUARY ONLY

Photo: George Tames

MONTPELIER, Vt. - Tom Wicker, who gained professional prominence while covering President John F. Kennedy's assassination for The New York Times and went on to serve as the paper's Washington bureau chief and a columnist, has died at his home in Rochester, Vt. He was 85.

Pamela Wicker said her husband had been in failing health and died of an apparent heart attack Friday morning.

Born June 18, 1926, Wicker grew up in poverty in Hamlet, N.C. He wanted to be a novelist before going into journalism when his early books didn't catch fire.

After working for newspapers in North Carolina, he got a job with the Times. He was in Kennedy's motorcade in Dallas when the president was killed.

The liberal Wicker was a longtime columnist for the paper, and wrote 20 books.